TNAG-0138-FCO40-174-Conduct-of-Hong-Kong-commercial-relations-1969 — Page 37

RECEIVED IN

REGISTRY No.51

11 DEC 1969

AKI ( 6 ) 18

R+l" Commercial Relations"

Draft Letter from

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Ref:CRE:17516/60.

R. Goldsmith. Esq., to Sir E. Melville.

Copy to:

Carter Whitehead)

Thank you for your letter of 3rd December about the

position of Hong Kong representation at Geneva.

{F.C.O.

2. There was an exchange of telegrams with the Governor of

Hong Kong in September about this, copies of which I enclose. Hong Kong's position as a separate signatory of the Long Term

Arrangement makes it more appropriate for the voice of Hong

Kong to be heard at the Cotton Textiles Committee than it

might be in other bodies, speaking in somewhat different tones

from that of the United Kingdom. But even there, and even if

genuine differences of view remain, we doubt if it would be in Hong Kong's interests to take any line publicly which would positively embarrass the U.K., and hope that consultation on

the spot could avoid any risk of that happening. We therefore

hope the position indicated in the telegrams could be maintained.

3. On the particular point you mention (the one dealt with

in para 7 of the enclosure to my minute of 27 November to Roderick Abbott) I would hope that serious difficulty should

not arise. Our recent discussions with Wellenstein and Ernst

made it clear that the roll-in of cottons and non-cottons would

be quite unacceptable to the E.E.C. They are not at present prepared to contemplate any extension of restraints to non- cottons except on specific items and subject to international

vetting. Roll-in would also be unacceptable to the Japanese, as made clear in Roderick Abbott's letter to me reporting discussion with the Japanese on 24 November. Quite apart

therefore from the reasons for which roll-in would be unaccept-

able to us, Hong Kong would clearly achieve nothing by pursuing this line, and we would hope that David Jordan and Derek Jones can be persuaded of this.

4. The only other point on which difficulty might arise seems to be the Hong Kong desire to see Article of the L.T.A. abolished. For reasons which will be explained in the Brief for the resumed C.T.C.Session, we do not think Hong Kong would gain from this in practice, and we would not ourselves be

no nocasions pour French Wurther

Art II were abolidied or not.

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